Man is charged with prison smuggling

An Akron man suspected of tossing contraband into the Lake Erie Correctional Institution will have a preliminary hearing Monday morning in Conneaut Municipal Court, according to records.

Kevin Moultry, 43, faces a felony charge of illegal conveyance of drugs into a detention facility, as well as a misdemeanor version of the same charge, a court spokeswoman said Tuesday. He will be represented by a public defender at the hearing, and is being housed in Ashtabula County jail in lieu of a $10,000 cash/surety bond placed on the felony charge and $2,000 cash/surety bond set on the misdemeanor, according to records.

Conneaut police were contacted by prison officials late Sunday afternoon about a man spotted walking around the perimeter of the prison fence, primarily on the west side, said Police Chief Charles Burlingham. Officers caught up with the man, who reeked of marijuana, according to a police report.

The man, later identified as Moultry, admitted tossing items over the prison fence. In addition to an unidentified drug, Moultry is believed to have tossed a cellular telephone into the compound, Burlingham said.

Reports of prison smuggling were rampant at the start of 2013, and several people were arrested. Incidents died down after the prison beefed up security along its perimeter, including the installation of additional fence and surveillance cameras. However, Moultry told police that he understood that smuggling has been on the rise in recent weeks.

Burlingham said the department has not received calls from the prison’s neighbors about suspicious vehicles or people. Such calls received last year helped lead to many of the arrests.